


Lions, and Boyfriends, and Beds, Oh My

by LitGal



Series: Not in Kansas Anymore [4]
Category: NCIS, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M, Sentient Atlantis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-02-27 07:05:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2683766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LitGal/pseuds/LitGal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Atlantis is having a quiet spell, no big disasters, no serious story arcs.  It gives a few of our couples a chance to indulge and it allows time for the lines of power to settle into their new channels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. John and Rodney

John checked the corridor. He didn’t want anyone to see him triggering the transporter to take him to the tower where Rodney had claimed quarters. One day, they’d get rid of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but until that day, John tried to avoid being seen. He didn’t need anyone knowing that most days he slept in the same bed with Rodney… which required keeping their shared quarters a secret.

Except from Radek. The engineer had shown up in the middle of the night cursing in Czech and demanding that Rodney fix something that some scientist from Earth had broken. And Abby knew. She’d threatened to kill John if he made Rodney unhappy, and there was something sweet about the fact that Rodney finally had friends who truly loved him. Her threats were a little less sweet, especially since she’d been pretty convincing. John was almost positive that she could not only kill him but hide the body.

And if Abby knew something, John had to assume that Gibbs and Tony knew. They were thick as thieves. She was tight with Miko as well. John figured there was a good chance those two gossiped about him. God knows they’d sometimes giggle when he was hanging out in the labs. John just hoped that Abby’s familiarity with the military had kept her from telling Lorne. If his second knew that John was breaking the regs, that would put Lorne in a really awkward position. John nodded at a Hoff worker who passed him in the hall pulling a cart of mechanical bits and pieces.

“Sir,” the worker managed. John smiled and leaned against the wall as he waited for the man to use the transporter. Once he was alone, John headed into the transporter. With a flash, John was in the dimly lit corridor that led to the family quarters that Rodney had managed to keep off the exploration schedule. Their suite was three doors down.

Grinning at the idea of doing dirty, dirty things to his lover, John triggered the door to open. He opened his mouth to call for Rodney, but he froze when he spotted Tony, Teyla, Rodney, Kitsune, and Lorne sitting on his living room couches. Ronon leaned against a wall and stared out over the ocean, but he glanced at John before giving one of his eye-roll warnings that suggested that boring and ridiculous things were going on. John took a step back.

That’s when Rodney looked up and spotted him. “Oh no. Get in here and deal with this.”

“Deal with what?” John was pretty sure there were enough big brains in this room to handle whatever needed dealing with. Maybe he could go find some Wraith to fight. 

“Colonel, the Travelers are being unreasonable,” Lorne said in a tone that made it clear he’d said the same thing a dozen times already.

“My people are not the unreasonable ones!” Kitsune glared at him. Lorne glared right back.

“Hey, how about we remember we’re all on the same side here,” Tony suggested with a smile. Usually his charm was good at smoothing ruffled feathers, but everyone in this room seemed to be ignoring him. Ronon even threw in a dismissive snort. Tony’s eyes narrowed, and John got a sense of real aggravation rolling off him.

“On the same side does not excuse the military from being unreasonable,” Rodney snapped. He looked at John. “They’re your people, fix it.”

John looked around, panic eating at his stomach. “Fix what?” he asked, even though he absolutely did not want to be in this argument. “Hey, how about I go get Elizabeth?” John suggested brightly. He was answered with a resounding “no” from everyone in the room except Ronon. Ronon just glared.

Teyla stood and gave him a weary look. “John, I believe this is a matter that requires your attention. Elizabeth is a capable leader and we respect her opinion in matters of your home galaxy, but this is a question of our galaxy.”

“This is an Earth station and Dr. Weir is in charge of all matters,” Lorne said unhappily, but he also kept his voice low. He still earned a few dirty looks. 

John was seriously considering running for the hills when Kitsune stood and announced, “I will not have Traveler ships compromised.”

“Um… okay?” John really hoped that was the right answer. Kitsune’s expression turned smug, and Lorne looked like he’d bitten a lemon. “Major?” John asked. Clearly he was not understanding something, which made sense since no one had told him what they were fighting about.

Lorne pressed his lips together angrily for a second, but then the frustration was gone, hidden under one seriously impressive poker face. “Kitsune refuses to give anyone on Atlantis the command codes to the ships.” Lorne sounded so calm, but clearly this was a problem for him, and what was a problem for Lorne was a problem for John.

“Do we need command codes?” John asked.

Kitsune said “No,” just as firmly as Lorne said “Yes.” Teyla sank back down onto the couch with a pinched expression and Tony groaned. Kitsune sent a nasty glare to everyone in the room. “The ships are Traveler property and we will not yield on that point. They are loaned to you for however long you fight the Wraith, but they are our property.”

“I’m not saying they aren’t,” Lorne said in an aggrieved voice, “but if there’s an emergency, we may not have time to find someone with the right codes to start the ships. You saw what happened during our last drill.”

“But you cannot promise that you will keep the codes secure if given them,” she snapped back.

Tony leaned forward. Since he was sitting between the two, that broke their staring contest. “Kitsune, military chain of command means that sometimes soldiers get orders they don’t like. Lorne doesn’t control that.” Tony made that sound like an apology.

Kitsune looked at John. “Are you not his commander?”

“His colonel, yeah, but trust me, I have bosses,” John said. The Degans thought he was the second coming of the Ancestors, Teyla thought he was in denial about being an Ancestor, and half the SGC thought John was two steps away from declaring himself a god. He tried very hard to make sure that no bucks stopped on his desk. He was the leader of his gate team and exactly nothing else. He implemented Elizabeth’s plans and tried to avoid getting on the bad side of any more brass back home. John looked at Lorne and wondered if he was going to mention to anyone that his commanding officer had walked into the chief science officer’s quarters without even knocking. That would give some people back home ammunition that John really didn’t want them having.

“And if your bosses ordered you to steal our ships and take them back to Earth?” Kitsune demanded. 

John hesitated. That was entirely too possible. John sure as hell wouldn’t do it without a damn good reason, but he would have trouble ignoring the answer if the Ori turned up on Earth’s doorstep. The Travelers’ ships could mean the difference between life and death for a lot of people.

Kitsune’s expression turned dark, and John held up his hands in mock surrender. “I wouldn’t do it for some dumb reason, but if my world was falling, and those ships could save thousands of lives, I would have trouble explaining why I wouldn’t.”

Immediately, Kitsune’s expression softened. “Do you think we would allow so many of your people to die without helping? You have risked yourself to launch rescue missions for my people; I would do no less.”

“Then making sure someone on Atlantis has the codes should not be a problem,” Lorne said, and all sympathy vanished from Kitsune’s face. She threw both her hands up in exasperation.

“Major Lorne,” Teyla said gently, “can you promise us that you will not be given some order for some ‘dumb’ reason, as the colonel puts it?”

“He can’t,” Tony answered before Lorne could say anything. “I worked with the military for a long time, and I know you find some of the best people in our world serving in it, but I also know you have some assholes who abuse power. The colonel knows that too.” Tony looked up at John.

John refused to answer on the grounds that it would make him look disloyal to his own world. He’d nearly left the Air Force because he couldn’t handle any more dumb orders from manipulative assholes. Hell, General O’Neill was a manipulative asshole—it’s just that John liked him, and General Landry was a political creature who would order Traveler ships back to earth for a defensive line without even considering that they weren’t Earth ships.

“You’re all being stupid,” Rodney complained, “and you’re being stupid in my quarters. Go away and be stupid somewhere else.”

“We need to resolve this conflict between Major Lorne and Commander Kitsune,” Teyla said calmly. “John, do you have any insights?”

“No?” John guessed. From the disappointed look on Teyla’s face, he’d guessed wrong. He sighed and tried again. “Lorne, you can’t ask them to hand over the keys to someone who might be ordered to steal their shit.”

Lorne grimaced, but John knew he was right. He even figured that Lorne didn’t want the codes. If he had them, he’d have to make an ethical decision about whether or not to follow orders if someone back home had a sudden case of stupidity.

Kitsune looked annoyingly smug about John’s proclamation. However Lorne was John’s second, and if he said there was a problem, there was. 

Most of the crews on the two ships were Earthers. No one had liked the fact that Travelers died young, meaning experienced crew members were in their thirties, and the youngest active crew members should have still been in grammar school. Rodney was working to help develop radiation shields to retrofit onto Traveler ships, but it would be years before their population aged to the point where anyone on Earth or on Atlantis was comfortable with a Traveler crew. As amusing as it was to watch a fourteen year old assistant ship engineer argue with Rodney over coil specifications, John wasn’t going to put that fourteen year old in danger. And a rule that all crew be nineteen or older had disqualified most of Kitsune’s technical staff.

“However,” John said, “if crews can’t get the ships moving fast enough during drills, then something has to change. Find techs who are not in the military command, someone like Rodney, and make sure there are enough techs that have the command codes to get those ships up during drills.”

With a mulish expression, Kitsune opened her mouth, but Tony cut her off. “That’s fair,” he said. “If the techs aren’t in the military, they aren’t going to follow an order blindly. Hell, Rodney took over the city and had his own little mutiny rather than follow Colonel Everett.”

“It’s not like I have a rebellion every week,” Rodney muttered, but he looked oddly pleased to have someone remember his willingness to take a stand, and Kitsune’s expression did turn thoughtful.

Teyla rested her hand on Kitsune’s knee. “You may choose any of your liking to entrust with these codes. It will ensure that the ships are not trapped on the ground if a few key individuals are prevented from reaching the ships.”

Kitsune turned to glare at Rodney. “They would have reached the ships if the transporters had not mysteriously malfunctioned.

“Hey!” Rodney snapped. “During emergencies, things break. That’s sort of the definition of emergency. How if you’ve all figured out how to solve this, get out of my quarters, all of you.” Rodney hurried matters by standing up, grabbing Kitsune’s arm, and hauling her toward the door.

“Rodney!” Teyla said in a shocked voice, and then she ruined the effect by smiling.

“Out,” Rodney ordered. “And next time, take your stupidity somewhere else.” 

John started to make his own retreat, but then Rodney caught him by the arm. 

“Oh my God. You’re an idiot. I didn’t mean you; I meant everyone else.”

“Thanks, McKay,” John said dryly. He crossed his arms while the others retreated and Rodney flapped his hands to hurry them along. Tony was the last one out. He paused at the door, looked at Rodney and then John and winked. Subtle. Really subtle.

“Out!” Rodney said, and he added a shove. Tony stumbled forward and John closed the door with a single thought.

“What the hell was that?” John demanded.

Rodney turned and headed for their small kitchen. “That is what happens when too many stupid people occupy too small a space. I’m going to shoot someone, you know. I mean, I’ll try to hit something non-vital, but my aim is not the best. I’m not promising they’ll survive.”

John followed, watching as Rodney went for his chocolate stash. “I happen to know that you think all those people have reasonably functioning brains. But I don’t understand why they had to bring that fight here.”

“They were looking for you,” Rodney in a tone that clearly cast aspersions on John’s intelligence.

“Damn. Do they know about…” John wiggled his finger between the two of them.

“That we employ alternating current?” Rodney guessed.

“You suck at charades.”

“Sue me. It’s not a skill I felt a need to develop.”

“Who knows about us?” John demanded.

Rodney gave him another really insulting look. “In that group?”

“No, Rodney. I’m wondering if any of the Rockettes realize we’re a couple.”

“I’m just asking because that question is stupid, even for you. I assume all of them know.”

John’s knees felt weak and he dropped down onto the stool before he fell down.

“What?” Rodney asked. He hurried around the counter and caught John’s arm. “Are you sick? You look like you need sugar. Here.” Rodney shoved a half-eaten candy bar in John’s direction. Rodney sharing candy—now that was true love. However, if everyone knew…

“What if they tell someone?” John asked.

“Like who?”

“Like Landry!” John almost shouted. Landry would love to get rid of him and put a real soldier in John’s place. Mitchell, probably. Mitchell was Landry’s golden boy. But O’Neill liked John, so maybe that would save him.

“Now I know your blood sugar is too low. Why would they tell him?”

“Lorne is career military,” John nearly shouted.

“Who’s in love with a civilian. Who likes Atlantis the way it is. Did you know his last commanding officer gave him shit for bringing art supplies? He was stuck on a mining world for weeks at a time, no facilities, no entertainment, and he couldn’t do what he wanted with his own free time because it wasn’t macho enough. Trust me, he doesn’t want some military goon in here anymore than the rest of us.” Rodney rolled his eyes and took his candy back.

“How do you know?”

Rodney shrugged. “Lorne talks to Abby, Abby talks to me. And that’s another thing… Lorne knows that if he ruined my love life, I’d be miserable, and then I’d make Abby miserable, and then Abby would do something really drastic to his dick.”

“Jesus, Rodney,” John complained. He really didn’t want to think about Lorne’s dick or what Abby might do to it.

“Hey, she’s a terrifying woman. If we ever decide to have a child, she might be a good egg donor because that woman is very nearly worthy of carrying my progeny,” Rodney said grandly. However, the edge of his mouth quirked up. Maybe the Rodney of three years ago would have meant that, but this Rodney was playing the part of a cranky irascible asshole when he really loved the people around him.

“Aw, you’re sweet on her,” John teased. He sat on the edge of the couch where Rodney was sitting and started singing, “Rodney and Abby, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G.”

Rodney narrowed his eyes. “Do you want sex any time in the next six months?” he asked in a tone that made John a little afraid and a little hot. 

John cleared his throat and decided to give up on the Rodney torture for now. Just for now. The fact was he really liked sex. So a change of topic was in order. “But why were they all here?”

“For you.”

“And once again, why?”

Rodney looked over at John with the expression he usually used on cracked crystals. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. What is wrong with you tonight?”

Rodney huffed and then shook his head. “I never thought I would meet anyone less good with people than me, but you have proved me wrong.”

“Can you insult me later and tell me what the hell is going on now?” John asked. He slid off the arm of the couch and landed on the cushion. It meant he was close enough that he could use his knee to shove at Rodney’s knee.

“I should be glad you’re an idiot. Otherwise you would have found someone else and I’d be left alone with my physics, not that I don’t like my physics, but it’s hard to get a good blowjob out of lab equipment.”

“Rodney!” John used his knee to shove harder.

Rodney shoved back, and for a second, they jockied for position on the couch, pushing and shoving and generally putting their hands all over each other until John finally established himself by sitting on one of Rodney’s hands and capturing his other wrist. 

“Bully,” Rodney complained, but he didn’t sound very upset.

“Why were they all here?” John asked slowly and deliberately.

“To get you to mediate the whole issue with command codes, and I don’t appreciate you putting my engineers in the middle. You may not pressure them to give up codes, but some military minds are too small to understand the big picture.”

“Don’t tell the military who has the codes,” John said, “but they could have come up with that solution on their own, so you still haven’t answered why they all chose to descend on my private quarters—the ones I don’t even officially have. That was an Elizabeth sort of problem. She handles treaties, and the command codes are part of our treaty with the Travelers.”

Rodney frowned. “Wouldn’t someone in the military ask who had the codes?”

“They’d ask; you don’t have to tell. Now, back to Elizabeth handling this problem…” John used his free hand to poke at Rodney’s side.

“Hey, no tickling,” Rodney complained as he squirmed, but John had a firm hold on him.

“Answer the question. Why here?”

“It’s a good thing you’re gorgeous because you would not make it on your brains.”

John narrowed his eyes as his frustration started to build.

“They don’t trust Elizabeth as much as you,” Rodney said, and John was so shocked that he didn’t counter Rodney’s escape attempt. Rodney wiggled free and next thing John knew, Rodney had pushed him onto his back and was sitting on him, pinning John down. “Elizabeth represents Earth. Lorne is military through and through. Tony represents the Turi, Teyla represents all the good little farmers of the Pegasus galaxy, and I’m an asshole. No one trusts any of the rest of us to make a decision that’s fair for all sides.”

“That’s not true,” John said, but he was suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of how many people came to him with problems that crossed populations. Tony would send him a Hoff who was upset with a member of the military or Teyla would ask him to have an informal conversation with a young Athosian who had been fighting with some Genii. “But I suck at politics.”

“Sucking at politics, and more importantly avoiding politics like it’s a plague, makes you more reliable,” Rodney said. “Some of them trust you because they think you’re an Ancient, some respect that you’re the descendant of an Ancient, and some respect the fact that you’ll break the rules to do what you think is right. Apparently they think I’m right for you.” Rodney definitely preened at that.

“You are right for me, but how does that turn into them trusting me more than Elizabeth?” John asked. Human behavior bewildered him most of the time, but this was a new record. He was completely lost.

Rodney sat up, but he didn’t move, so he was still sitting on John’s stomach. “They know Earth rules forbid you to choose me, and you still have. They trust you to ignore Earth when you need to, and Lorne and Tony trust you to protect Earth the best you can.”

“Really?” John could feel a warmth spreading up his body.

“You’re an idiot. How could you have not noticed this?” Rodney asked.

“Um… I don’t know. I told you before—I don’t see this personal stuff coming until someone stops and hits me in the face with it. I didn’t know I was getting divorced until Nancy sent me papers.”

“You’re just lucky you have me around to tell you the obvious.”

John let his hands rest on Rodney’s hips. “I am lucky to have you around, but it’s not because of your ability to insult me.”

“It isn’t?” Rodney got a sly look on his face. “Is it because of my big brain?”

“I’m more interested in your big other parts,” John said. He let his hands slide down to Rodney’s thighs. He stopped when his thumbs were dangerously close to Rodney’s cock. Sure enough, Rodney started getting hard as if by on command. 

“You want me for my body? That’s different.”

John hated that Rodney was always so insecure about his physical charms. He was beautiful and soft and he had a gorgeous, huge cock that John would build an altar to, at least if that weren’t creepy. “I love your body,” John said. He rubbed Rodney’s thighs. “If we get naked, I could show you all the ways I love your body.”

“You are a size queen,” Rodney accused him. “And luckily I know how to make size queens happy.”

That was partially true. John did love Rodney’s very extraordinary cock, but that was a bonus. “You know I wouldn’t care how big it was.”

“Yes you would,” Rodney said before he leaned down and kissed John’s neck. Fuck. In a heartbeat, John was hard as a rock and ready to go off. He loved having Rodney suck on his neck.

“Well, I would, but even if you were small, I would still love being in bed with you.”

“Liar,” Rodney said, and then he made all John’s brains leak out by grabbing John’s cock right through his uniform. John cried out and thrust up into the air, but Rodney had a good hold and he didn’t move. He kept up a pattern of gentle kisses along the side of John’s neck.

John wrapped his arms around Rodney and pulled him close. “Not lying. I love that I never have to guess what you’re thinking. I love how hot you when you sleep and that you let me curl up around you. I love every curve and every brutally sarcastic comment you’ve ever made. I even love it when you insult me. Now fuck me.”

“Maybe I should hold out for more compliments,” Rodney whispered into John’s ear. His breath was warm and tickled the tiny hairs.

“Do and I will send Lorne on some two week mission so you have to deal with lonely and horny Abby.”

Rodney pushed himself up and glared down at John. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

“You’re going to pay for that,” Rodney warned, and a frisson of lust and fear ran up John’s spine.

“I really hope so.” John had lots more threats that he could use to antagonize Rodney, but then Rodney kissed him so hard that John could feel his lips bruise. He bucked up into Rodney’s body, but he didn’t have the right angle to free himself. Besides, he really didn’t want to. Rodney always got more into it when he felt in control, and John was happy to give him that control. A Rodney who was in control was devious and creative and so fucking hot that he could star in porn movies, and he was all John’s. It was like winning the relationship lottery.

Too soon, Rodney pulled back. “Up, up, up,” Rodney said, even snapping his fingers. John was kiss drunk, and he blinked up without really understanding what Rodney wanted. “Up,” Rodney said again, this time pulling on John’s arm. John went along, allowing Rodney to pull him around to the back of the couch. John thought Rodney was taking him to the bedroom, but then Rodney spun him around and shoved him stomach down onto the back of the couch.

“Rodney?” John asked, but then Rodney was pulling John’s pants down. John helped by stepping out of them as soon as they fell to the ground, and if that left him with his legs sprawled a little wide, that wasn’t a bad thing. John felt Rodney’s sure fingers slide into him, open him, slick him up. Rodney could use John’s body as effectively as any tool, and he loved to bring John to the edge. He stretched John just enough, he put just enough pressure inside, that John went up onto his toes and buried his face in a pillow to keep from screaming with need.

And just like Rodney knew when a reactor was about to go critical, at the very moment where John was ready to slip across into a mind blowing orgasm, Rodney stopped. “I swear, I will lose Lorne. I will send him to fucking Timbuctoo and forget to recall him,” John threatened.

“Stop distracting me,” Rodney said, and a half second later, Rodney’s huge cock was splitting John in half. John cried out as his prostrate was pushed and shoved and his cock got harder and harder. Rodney grabbed John’s hips so hard that there’d be bruises tomorrow, and then Rodney set a brutal pace, driving into John and controlling John with those strong and capable hands. John was caught, trapped, filled so full that every brush of the couch fabric across his cock was agony. He could only ride along, and then Rodney reached around and grabbed his cock.

John thrust forward and cried out, all thought gone… evaporated under an all-consuming need that made him burn hot. His whole body went rigid, and Rodney’s cock felt about twice as large as he pounded into John. The orgasm rolled through John, and as it left, John sagged onto the couch.

Rodney rested against his back, and as usual, he threw off heat like a furnace. 

“You broke me,” John complained happily.

Rodney snorted. He drew circles on John’s arm and leaned into him. “I had actually planned something longer and more creative. Don’t think I don’t know that you provoked that.”

“Hey, I’m still up for longer and more creative,” John said. “Well, I will be in an hour or so, anyway.”

“That would give us time to play a round of video golf,” Rodney suggested.

“Fifth hole?” John loved the fifth hole. Rodney almost never beat him at it.

“Ninth.”

“Second.”

“Third or I’ll tie you to the bed and play by myself,” Rodney threatened.

John thought about that. If anyone else had said that, John would have felt defensive, but John trusted Rodney. More than that, he understood that Rodney still had trouble trusting himself or John. So every time John turned power over to Rodney, he imagined Rodney getting more and more confident.

“Well?” Rodney asked. He stood up and John felt the loss of heat at his back.

“I’m thinking,” John said.

“We’re playing the third hole and then I’m tying you to the bed,” Rodney said firmly.

“Okay,” John agreed. After all, life was easier when you agreed with Rodney. Reaching down for his pants, John caught a glimpse of Rodney watching him with such love that John got a lump in his throat. Part of him wanted to say something hopelessly mushy, but that’s not how Rodney worked. Compliment Rodney and he looked for traps. Fight with him, and he relaxed.

“I’m going to kick your ass. What do you say we put a bet on the game?” John said after pulling his pants back up.

“You’re going down, Sheppard,” Rodney said with a smile. “Now what sort of bet?”


	2. Gibbs, Samas, and Tony

When the office door chimed, Tony wiped a hand across the surface of the interface to hide the data he’d been reviewing. Hopefully there was some problem that would give him a reason to postpone his reports again. Or maybe he didn’t want that. With so much to do, he had put off his paperwork so much that it was becoming an insurmountable mountain. 

He silently ordered the door to open, and Gibbs was there. From the angle of his shoulders, Samas too. Tony was seeing entirely too little of Samas lately, and every time he feared it would be the last, but that fear didn’t erase the relief he felt at seeing both the people he loved standing outside his door. “Gibbs, Samas, tell me you’ve come to save me from paperwork.”

“You’d better not be shirking your duties, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said with a growl. Years ago, Tony would have taken that as a threat. Now a frisson of lust travelled through him. He loved Gibbs’ growl.

“Never, boss,” Tony said with a grin. “So, what’s up?”

Gibbs shifted and Samas answered. “I thought I would see if you are keeping up your physical exercise on your own or if you have developed an unhealthy reliance on Jo for your physical upkeep.” Samas lowered his head and studied Tony in a way that made Tony’s cock sit up and take notice.

“You’re worried about my physical fitness?” Tony suspected Samas had another physical interest, but maybe he was wrong. These days, Samas wore out his chase drive on other onac, not on Tony. However, that look—that long and dangerous look that Samas was giving him… that was familiar.

“I wonder if you are still any good,” Samas said, and that was an unvarnished challenge.

Tony pursed his lips and moved slowly away from the door. No need to signal his moves too soon. Of course, knowing Samas, the bastard could already smell how very ready Tony was. “I don’t know. Gibbs wants my paperwork done.”

“Does he?” Samas asked.

“He—” Tony didn’t finish. He turned and dashed for his inner office. Behind him, he could hear Samas curse as he had to detour around the table. That still meant that Tony had a very small lead. Fortunately, he’d drilled for different escape scenarios. He and Ronon had made a game out of it. That meant that Tony knew exactly how to get out of his inner office.

He clambered over the balcony at the exact spot where he could find a handhold on the wall next to it. This was a dangerous game twenty stories up, but Tony had a confidence about him that came from long practice. He held on and let his body stretch down. Then he let go, confident he would find the ledge he needed. 

His toes hit, and he nearly fell backwards, which would have been a quick and messy death, but at the last second, he found his handhold and caught himself. Maybe he didn’t need to train a little more without Jo, but he’d worry about that later. Now he slide sideways along a decorative detail along the tower.

“Tony?” Samas called. Tony laughed as he moved farther away. Samas would know the direction, but it would take him a little time to find the right handholds. Tony reached the next balcony, and ordered the balcony door open before he even dropped down onto steady ground. When Tony looked back along the curve of the tower, he could see Samas already sliding along the ledge.

“Gotta be quicker than that, boss,” Tony teased. When Samas caught him, he was going to fuck Tony raw. The thought made Tony shiver with lust. However, it wouldn’t do to have the game end too early. He darted into the unused office and headed for the inner door. Samas and Gibbs had a symbiote’s advantage, and by the time Tony reached the first transporter, he could hear the footsteps behind him. He slid into the transporter, slammed into the back wall and hit a destination. If he went into a populated area before setting the transporter to a more secluded spot, it would be harder for Samas to find him. Samas was terrifyingly good at tracking spot to spot transports, but there were thousands of people transporting in and out of the city center, so no way could Samas use his technomage powers to track Tony through that.

The transporter opened onto an area of densely populated personal quarters. Many of the early Atlantis personnel lived in this area, so the transporters were heavily used. Tony then hit the button for the North pier.

Nothing happened.

He hit it again.

Again, nothing happened except that the city sent him a general feeling of amusement, a sense that Samas had found a way to counter this expected tactic.

Damn it. Tony knew better than to question Atlantis when she sent him that sort of intel. So, Samas had some sort of lockdown on the transporters—at least when it came to Tony taking multiple jumps. That’s fine. He just needed to get to the next transporter. Tony started running. A hum warned him of another in bound transport, and adrenaline shot up his spine. It was Samas. Tony put on a burst of speed, not bothering to look back. He knew what he’d see.

>   
>  * * * *  
>  Sergeant Johnson had only been on Atlantis for two months. He plastered himself to the side of the corridor as first Tony and the Samas raced past. Then Johnson turned to Markham. “Oh my God. What the hell was that?”
> 
> “That’s just the gunny’s snake. Samas is a kinky bastard.” Sgt. Markham laughed.
> 
> “But… They…”
> 
> Markham rolled his eyes. “Christ, Johnson, grow up. It’s sex, not a Wraith attack.” Sometimes Markham wondered who was picking the Earth soldiers to send through the gate. If a little on-base sex shocked Anderson, how the hell was the man going to handle the Pegasus galaxy? “Welcome to Atlantis,” Markam offered, and he made a mental note to keep Johnson away from the Turi Satedans. Rumors might just be rumors, but there was no need to break their newest sergeant. Not yet.  
>  * * * *  
> 

Samas caught Tony outside the corridor that led to the workout and training rooms. Tony felt Samas grab him, and then he suddenly changed directions as Samas used sheer brute force to slam Tony into the wall.

For a second, the breath was knocked out of him, and Samas waited as Tony gasped for air. Of course Samas also had all his weight against Tony’s shoulders, pinning him securely. He was clearly waiting for a counter attack of some sort.

“Someone’s in a mood,” Tony said. He gave a little wiggle and felt Samas’ grip tighten in return.

“Yes, I am,” Samas agreed. He leaned in and nipped at Tony. Tony arched his neck to give Samas room to work, and then Samas bit him just where the shoulder and neck met. Tony cried out in need. His cock was hard, and he humped into Samas. Samas nipped again, more gently this time, and a shiver took Tony. He felt fever hot.

“Hell yes,” Tony groaned. He wrapped his arms around Samas and pulled him close. “You cheated with the transporters.”

Samas nipped the side of Tony’s neck again, hard enough to leave a bruise. “I did not.”

“You did.” Tony could feel Samas’ hard cock pressed up against him. They both needed this.

“You mistake me for someone who would cheat,” Samas said, and he loosened his hold. Tony had never been slow to take a hint. Samas wanted to run, to chase. Now that Tony had hosted Jo, he understood the appeal in a way he hadn’t before the joining. Before it had been a kinky game they played. Now Tony understood how Samas needed the chase the way a human needed touch. It was part of the sex drive. So Tony brought his knee up into Samas’ groin as hard as he could.

Samas gave a strangled cry and fell to his knees, which gave Tony a chance to run. However, he only made it two steps before he nearly strangled on his own shirt. When Tony twisted around, he could see Samas still kneeling, still struggling to recover, but holding tightly to the bottom of Tony’s shirt.

Tony bent over and ripped his shirt off before he turned to run again, and nearly took out Teyla and Abby, both of whom had their workout clothes on.

“Sorry!” he yelled as he rebounded off Teyla, caught himself on the wall and then took off again. Behind him, Samas was saying something, but Tony was sure he would follow quickly enough.

>   
>  * * * *  
>  Teyla laughed as she dodged out of Tony’s way. She wasn’t quite quick enough, and he collided with her before darting off. Samas and Gibbs were up and after him a half second later.
> 
> “Wow, the bossman was never like that back home,” Abby said.
> 
> “They have been much more subdued of late, but I do like to see their more playful side appear. Sometimes those of your galaxy appear to lose touch with their inner joy.”
> 
> “Oh you have no idea,” Abby said before she threaded her arm through Teyla’s. “Earth people can be totally into their rules, but we’ll teach them better.”
> 
> Teyla smiled and tightened her hand around Abby’s arm. “That we shall.”  
>  * * * *  
> 

By the time Tony had decided to head for the long deck that ran around the tower they used for grand gatherings, Tony was gasping for air. He definitely needed to workout more. After all, he didn’t even have to put up with being sore the next day, not if he could get Jo to join with him. But this was embarrassing.

Again, Samas caught him, but this time, Tony and Samas went down in a tangle of limbs as Samas tackled him. They slid across the grand room’s smooth floor, bumping into a table hard enough to send something falling off the other side. It rolled around, the sound echoing off the glass and metal walls. Again, Samas’ first target was Tony’s neck. He nipped and bit the other side, and Tony was going to be wearing turtle necks for a while. Jo would never heal bruises left by Samas. Hell, Tony suspected Jo made them show up even more brilliantly against Tony’s fair skin.

Samas pressed his hip into Tony’s groin. “You are the one to cheat.”

“That wasn’t cheating. That was taking advantage of an opportunity,” Tony said. He had to gasp in the middle because Samas undulated against him, and Tony’s cock was really going to break. He needed to come.

“You shall get no more opportunities,” Samas said. He grabbed Tony’s arm and twisted it in a way that forced Tony onto his stomach. Right now, Tony didn’t want to fight. The chase was fun, but the losing was even better. He hissed when Samas yanked his pants down without unbuttoning them. 

“Ow.” Tony complained, but honestly he hurt more out of sexual frustration than friction. He wanted sex and he wanted it now.

Samas clearly took his complaint as a challenge because he grabbed Tony’s wrists and pinned them over Tony’s head before biting the back of Tony’s neck.

“Fuck me, boss. Come on,” Tony whined. Of course he knew that was sure to get the fucking postponed, but he couldn’t help himself. Samas tightened his teeth around Tony’s neck and drove his knee up between Tony’s legs. Tony was perfect caught. His neck ached in ways that he found deeply arousing. His cock was burning with need even as it was getting pressed into the cold floor, and he practically throbbed with lust. His whole body was one over-sensitive nerve ready to fire.

He pulled at his wrists, feeling the sweat gather between them, and Samas tightened his hold. “You will yield,” Samas said, and then he shoved slick fingers into Tony’s hole with no warning.

Tony bit down on a scream, but not quick enough. His cry echoed through the room. Samas spread his fingers, and Tony’s muscles opened easily. Tony struggled against Samas’ hold without truly wanting to break it. He just loved feeling Samas’ strength holding him down.

“Hey! What the hell is going on in here?”

Samas rolled off Tony. When Tony looked over his shoulder, he saw one of the airman assigned to patrol holding a zat on them.

“Security, I have Gibbs and DiNozzo in the reception hall, and they’re acting a little weird.”

“No we aren’t,” Tony said as he reached down to pull his pants free of his shoes. If he tried pulling them up, Samas would pin him to the ground, airman or no airman, but if Tony had another chance to run, he was taking it, and the pants would only hobble him. The airman listened to something on his radio.

“They’re acting sort of… well… libidinous, but I’m not feeling any alien need to hump someone,” the airman explained.

“I hardy need an alien influence to desire sex with my lover,” Samas said dryly.

Someone must have told the airman something similar because he got a strange look on his face. “Really?” he asked, and from the look on his face, he didn’t believe the answer he was getting.

“Seriously?” he asked again, and now he was looking at Tony and Samas like they were insane.

“Hey, you run your sex life the way you want to, and we’ll run ours,” Tony said crossly. “And I’m the local law enforcement, so unless you think we’re step one in an invasion, this is not your jurisdiction.”

The airman slowly lowered his zat and then holstered it before he touched his earpiece again. “Confirmed, security. I’m moving on with patrol.” He gave Tony and Samas one more incredulous look. Tony figured that was probably more for him. The armed services still had a little more trouble accepting the gay and bottom thing than they did the gay and top. It was stupid, but Tony had long ago accepted that people were lacking in the logic department. It didn’t help that Samas had stripped him down to an undershirt and a pair of shoes. Tony was definitely underdressed for talking to airmen.

Samas gave a very Gibbs-like snort, and then Tony slammed his elbow into Samas’ face before he got up and darted for the door. The airman who had just interrupted them yelped as Tony shoved him aside, but Tony didn’t much care. He took off down the hall, and he knew Samas wouldn’t be far behind. Tony almost groaned when he saw who was in his way, but oh well. Giving a good chase was more important than playing nice with the bosses. With a quick “excuse me” he streaked by Lorne and Sheppard.

>   
>  * * * *  
>  “Was that…” Lorne narrowed his eyes as he stared at the corridor where the largely naked man had vanished. Before Sheppard could answer, Gibbs came charging down the hall. His shirt was unbuttoned, and he seemed uninterested in anything other than the chase. That’s when Lorne realized it was Samas who charged past him without a word. “Are they…” Lorne stopped. He really didn’t want to say it out loud.
> 
> “Come on, Major. I know you’ve heard the stories,” Sheppard said with undisguised amusement.
> 
> “You’re enjoying my horror, aren’t you?”
> 
> The colonel laughed. “Oh hell, yes. It’s one of my great pleasures. Besides, at least they keep it out of the kitchens now.”
> 
> “The kitchens?” Lorne asked in despair. He wasn’t sure what bothered him more—Gibbs having public sex or him doing in the kitchens. Worse, Gibbs and Tony were practically Lorne’s fathers-in-law. On Sunday he was going to have dinner with them while trying very hard to not think about them naked. If he didn’t love the hell out of Abby, he’d… He had no idea what he’d do because he did love the hell out of Abby. He even loved her insane family. Maybe some of Radek’s rotgut would help him forget the sight of Tony’s naked ass.  
>  * * * *  
> 

Samas caught Tony in one of the solariums. When Samas grabbed his undershirt, Tony tumbled into a bed of moss that Atlantis used for packing goods. It smelled of Earth and faintly of flowers and mushrooms. Tony fell on his stomach and before he could do anything, Samas pinned him down and bit the back of his neck again. Tony shivered as the weight forced him down into the ground. The moss and dirt compressed down so that they created a Tony-shaped indent that helped trap him in place.

Samas forced Tony’s legs apart, and shoved his cock into Tony’s slicked hole without any further preparation. Tony arched his back and cried out. He was full, and yet he wanted more. He tried to hump against the ground, but the soft dirt gave him no leverage and his feet dug out divots without allowing him an inch of movement. 

The smells grew stronger as their sex crushed the moss and sent fragrant air drifting up around them. Samas pulled back and slammed into Tony again. Tony cried out for more. “Fuck me,” he gasped when Samas pulled back again, and then Samas started pounding him so hard that Tony could feel his teeth clack together and feel his body strain to accept the harsh pace.

Finally Samas began his orgasm. When Samas was running the body, it always worked the same way. He let his weight fall on Tony’s back a second before he bit him hard on the shoulder, and then Samas made frantic, shallow thrusts before he started coming. Perhaps Tony was trained by years of Samas-sex, but he didn’t need any hand around his cock or any words. Samas’ frantic thrusts were enough that Tony started to come. He gave one abortive thrust into the moss, and then his whole body stiffened and jerked as he lost all track of reality.

As he slowly faded back into awareness, Samas was still on top, still balls-deep in Tony, and still nibbling on the back of Tony’s shoulder. Sometimes this led to a less-enthusiastic, but just as mind-blowing second round, so Tony lay still and let Samas run this show.

“You are beautiful,” Samas said between nibbles.

Tony tightened the muscles around his hole to see if he could encourage Samas to go for round two, but he only got a harder bite to the shoulder, a warning to submit. Tony sighed and relaxed. “You are too. Both of you are,” Tony said.

Samas gentled his bites, but he continued to nip along Tony’s shoulder and up his neck. He also kept Tony’s wrists pinned to the bed of moss. Tony had no idea what the botanists were going to say, but he didn’t care. He’d pay for the moss out of his own salary if that’s what he had to do, but he would never regret this.

When Samas gave a small thrust before settling back down, still shoved deep inside Tony, Tony groaned. “For a species that doesn’t have genitals, you sure do have fun playing with them.”

Samas chuckled. “Yes. I shall miss such an entertaining way to reproduce.”

That washed away some of the post-sex bliss. “Miss?” Tony asked cautiously. They’d discussed that Samas needed to leave Gibbs, but so far, they’d avoided any discussion of concrete dates.

“It’s time,” Samas said, and now he replaced his nips with tiny kisses. Tony could feel his eyes grow warm with tears.

“Do you really have to leave us?” Tony knew that Gibbs dreaded this day as much as Tony. They both loved their cranky queen.

“I do. I fear that every time I join with Gibbs, it will be one time too many and I will damage Gibbs irreparably.”

Tony sighed. He wanted to argue, but Samas was right. He was getting too large. “And that would be bad,” Tony admitted unhappily.

“Very.” Samas let go of Tony’s wrist and stroked the side of Tony’s face. 

For a time, they lay there, physically joined and sharing a warmth they would never again share. Tony would still have Gibbs, but for how long? Without a symbiote, how many years would he have? This was the conversation Tony had postponed, but if these were his last moments with Samas, he had to bring up his fears now. “What scares me is that I might lose Gibbs too. I’ll miss you, but Jo will bring stories and I know that you want this—you want to live in the new world you’ve built. But… I can’t lose both of you.” Tony stopped before he did something humiliating like cry.

“I do want to live in the waters and hear my people’s song surround me, feel the stories slide over my skin, but when I made that my goal, I failed to understand how much I would come to love you.” Samas ran his thumb along Tony’s lower lip. “I am leaving to make sure that our people never twist in a way that would put you in harm’s way—not you or the people you love.”

“But without a symbiote, Gibbs won’t live as long.”

“He won’t live as long as you,” Samas admitted slowly, and then he went silent. Tony could almost feel Gibbs and Samas retreating to have an internal conversation. 

Tony waited a moment before he said, “That’s where I have a problem. I always told him that I don’t let go well.”

Samas chuckled and kissed Tony’s shoulder. “Yes, you said that on Ba’al’s ship after you made the foolish decision to follow him. We fear that you would do something twice as foolish to save him.”

“That’s pretty much a given.”

“Which is why I’ve convinced him that he must take an onac,” Samas said with the sort of smugness he usually used after winning some great battle.

“A queen?” Tony’s stomach rolled a little at the thought. He knew all the younger queens through Jo, and she would not want her younger sisters inside her beloved Gibbs.

“No,” Samas said firmly. “I would be very quick to kill any queen who dared to touch Gibbs, and I fear I would have to fight Jo for the honor of making such a kill. Gibbs is a private man, and no young queen has the right to claim his memories. We spoke not long after we came to Atlantis and I have onac who carry Gibbs memories and no others. They will learn nothing new by joining and they wait for a chance.”

“And Gibbs is okay with this?”

“The alternative is to leave you here to get in trouble after I leave,” Samas said softly, and Tony guessed that was the winning argument in their debate.

“That’s a good point, boss. You know how much trouble I get in.”

There was a subtle shift, and then Tony knew it was Gibbs on top of him. “Too much. I never had a second with such a talent at finding trouble,” Gibbs said.

“Yeah, I know. I’d apologize, but you get in even more trouble.”

Gibbs stroked Tony’s shoulder, and it took Tony a second to realize he was tracing all the bite marks Samas had left. “And you really are not good at protecting yourself when I’m not around,” Gibbs said.

“Nope, I’m really not.”

There was another shift, and it was Samas who proclaimed, “I am only sorry I shall not be here to keep both you idiots from foolish mistakes.”

Tony laughed, but the sound didn’t chase away the sorrow he could feel clinging to his soul. “Hey, we resemble that remark.”

>   
>  * * * *  
>  “Dr. Weir?”
> 
> Elizabeth moved over to Peter’s side. Walter was still running his reports at the end of his shift, and Peter was sitting second chair during the shift transition. “Yes, Dr. Grodin?”
> 
> “Um, you requested that I inform you if I felt a need to delete any more security footage.” Peter glanced over toward Walter as though unwilling to get more specific in front of someone who wasn’t part of the small cadre who had been here year one, but Elizabeth suspected Walter had already figured out most of Atlantis’ secrets. His reputation for making bases run smoothly was well-earned, and that sort of person generally knew more than they ever told—even if it was only to make sure that they could better defend those secrets.
> 
> Elizabeth glanced over Peter’s shoulder, and one look at Gibbs’ silver hair and a brief flash of a nearly naked Tony was enough for her to get the general shape and size of the problem. “Again?” Elizabeth sighed. “I really thought those three had learned to stay away from the cameras.”
> 
> “They appear a little too enthusiastic to really care about where they are.” Peter grinned. “This one would be worth a lot on the black market if Dr. Zelenka got ahold of it.”
> 
> “Then let’s isolate and delete the footage before that happens.” Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. Those three might play nice in public, but she had to admire how they lived by their own rules in private. The rest of the world just had to learn to deal with it. Of course, Elizabeth didn’t mind making a few concessions to their eccentricities; they were worth it. She had trouble imagining Atlantis without them.  
>  * * * *  
> 


	3. Elizabeth and Ladon Radim

Elizabeth felt that familiar tightening in her chest as she watched Ladon Radim walk through the Gate. Her body remembered the pleasure they’d found in each other, but she would not compromise herself and her position as Atlantis’ leader to indulge in her baser needs. She would wait until tonight, pour a large glass of wine, and indulge in some private angst.

She couldn’t afford anything more.

“Elizabeth,” Ladon greeted her, his voice carefully neutral.

“Chief Radim,” she replied. She could see the minute flinch and the pain in his eyes. She thought that would give her pleasure, but it didn’t. Politics had trapped him as surely as it had her. Each of them had to set aside their personal choices in order to serve their people. She had given up her home planet and two men she loved. Radim had given up his beloved science, and her. Elizabeth would never know how he truly felt about her, but she liked to believe that he had returned her feelings, that his sacrifice had been as great as hers.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then he walked forward and offered his hand. “Well met, Dr. Weir.”

“Well met,” she returned. “I admit I was surprised to get this request for a meeting. I hope there’s not a problem.” She hoped even more that he had not come for personal reasons. Last time they had seen each other, the rather messy death of Acastus Kolya and the recovery of Colonel Sheppard had precluded any other sort of conversation. As much as she didn’t want another emergency, it would be preferable to any awkward break up speech, especially when they’d broken up months ago.

“No, no problem. I have simply heard of changes here on Atlantis, and I wished to make an offer. As the leader of your people, I felt it wise to seek your advice before I do so.”

“Changes?” Elizabeth pushed all personal thoughts aside and focused on Ladon as a political rival. Offering him her most charming smile, she took his arm. She led the way to her office, and Ladon walked with her, his honor guard trailing behind. On the balcony, John watched with thinly disguised distrust, but Gibbs was missing. Elizabeth was surprised at how she found that absence bothered her. She had come to rely on the Igigi and his superior skills and political manipulations. She had found an uneasy ally in him, but for all their disagreements, he had always respected her and she returned that feeling. “We always have changes on Atlantis.” She told Radim airily, tucking her discomfort away in a small hidden corner of her mind.

“That you do. I understand that the Travelers are more amenable to working with you.”

“I find Kitsune refreshing,” Elizabeth said, neglecting to say the woman was obstreperous, annoying, arrogant, and lacking in so many social niceties that she was tempted to believe she was raised in the same house with Rodney. John’s insistence that Larrin was worse did little to reassure her, but the Travelers came with warships, and Earth wanted access to the technology, even if they couldn’t control of the actual ships. “Do you know Captain Kitsune?”

Ladon gave her an odd look. “I have no idea. I assume the Travelers have not shared their strange attitude toward names.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, inviting him to explain.

Ladon entered her office and waited as she closed the door, leaving his guard outside. However, she left the windows clear so there would be no question about the purpose of this visit and no hope on Ladon’s part, if he had come wanting to renew their relationship. “Every time they take a new mission or interact with a new group, they change the name they give. If you went to a hundred Travelers and asked about Kitsune, none of them would have any idea who you meant because when she interacted with them, she used another name.”

“Which makes it difficult to track her.” Elizabeth could respect the tactic.

“When they interact with us, they usually choose historical names, often ones that will annoy us.”

“And this was your gift to us? Contact with people you find annoying?” Elizabeth gestured to one of her guest chairs before settling behind her desk.

Ladon grinned at her. “You enjoy a challenge, Elizabeth.”

“Perhaps you don’t know me as well as you think.” Elizabeth kept her voice cold. It would have been a relief if Ladon had gotten upset and yelled, but instead he looked away with a pained expression. Guilt gnawed at her insides. “So, which of our various changes has brought you to the city, Chief Radim?”

“I notice Gibbs and Samas are absent.”

Elizabeth had no doubt one of Ladon’s scientists had already told him the truth, so she lost nothing by confirming it. “Samas grew too large to continue to take a host.”

“So he is gone.” Ladon seemed bothered by that.

“He is swimming under the city. I understand Rodney is working with some of the linguists to create an interface.”

“Is he likely to succeed?”

Elizabeth nodded. Ladon’s scientists had likely already explained that the Wraith interface used chemical markers much as the onac did, so creating an interface should… theoretically… prove possible.

“And that leaves you with Gibbs, a man very much out of favor with his superiors on Earth.”

“And a man very much appreciated here on Atlantis.” Elizabeth didn’t know where Ladon was going with this, but she didn’t appreciate his attitude. She would never allow the small minds on Earth to take their revenge on Gibbs now that Samas was gone.

Ladon leaned forward. “Elizabeth, we both understand the political costs of leadership. Gibbs does as well. If you cannot protect him from those who resent his willingness to carry a symbiote, we would give him a place of honor on any one of a dozen worlds.”

“And ask him to reveal Samas’ technological knowledge?”

Ladon jerked back as though burned. “Elizabeth, I know full well that Gibbs retains little of Samas’ technical knowledge.”

“But this would be a political boon for you, giving Gibbs sanctuary from Earth.” Elizabeth could imagine how much damage that would do to the leadership in Atlantis. It would make the entire council appear little more than powerless pawns under the control of Earth’s leaders.

“I am not here as a leader seeking advantage, I’m here as a friend trying to protect both Gibbs and you, Elizabeth.” He sounded so sincere, but Elizabeth could not afford to allow her softer side to show.

“But you are a leader, and we both know that your position as the leader of the Genii will force you to make difficult choices. What will happen if your political enemies—if those who supported Kolya—learn that Gibbs shared the leadership of the Turi people? The Turi were the ones who… dismembered the commander.” Dismemberment seemed such a kind word for what the Turi actually did to Kolya, but there was no word in English that meant to rip into small chunks and fling about with a sort of vicious glee that called one’s sanity into question.

Ladon leaned forward in his chair. “What will happen if your superiors demand that you return Gibbs to Earth? Will you risk your own position or the goodwill of your superiors? I have no superiors, Elizabeth. It is far easier for me to act unilaterally, and quite frankly, the Genii people feel a great deal of gratitude to Gibbs for his part in making sure we claimed our place in this alliance. I can protect him.”

“As can I,” Elizabeth immediately responded. “I am offended that you believe I cannot.”

“I want to prevent you from spending too much political capital on this. I want to,” Ladon paused, and Elizabeth struggled against a need to soothe him, to reassure him. “I want to protect you,” he finished, his voice much softer now.

Elizabeth sighed and leaned back in her chair. In some ways, her breakup with Simon had been easier. She had been furious with his cowardice—his unwillingness to tell her that he’d moved on. Ladon was too quick to still put her feelings first, and it meant she had to guard her heart so much more carefully. “I appreciate the impulse,” she said, “but the Marines have already given Gibbs an honorable discharge. He is officially a civilian again, and he has resumed his job as an NCIS agent, only now he is assigned to Atlantis as a civilian law enforcement agent.”

“He replaced Tony?” Ladon asked, not hiding his shock.

“He has been added to the duty roster as Tony’s official partner. That is how they worked together back on Earth, and there is too much work for one agent,” Elizabeth said. 

“Oh.” Ladon seemed to deflate some, and Elizabeth realized that he had wanted to come in offering her a solution the way another man might offer a ring. Had she taken him up on the offer, it would have been the equivalent of a very expensive ring, one that could have ended up costing him too much in the end, and yet he was still here. He had risked that to give her options.

Elizabeth tapped her fingers on her desk and tried to ignore the memory of Ladon’s hands against her skin, his words whispered in the dark. He was still the shy scientist who had talked his way into her bed, even if politics made certain things impossible. “I appreciate your offer, but the political reality is that any help you give me places doubt on both our motives and our objectivity.” 

“I suppose that’s true,” he admitted. “Still, I worked with Samas quite a bit. It was a shock to hear that he was gone, and I thought as Samas’ friend I owed it to make the offer.” Ladon sounded much less emotional now.

“We will certainly miss him.”

Ladon stood. “I hate the thought of him swimming alone. When Dr. McKay gets the interface working, please allow me the honor of sending him my best wishes for his future.”

Elizabeth stood as well. “Of course.” She didn’t worry about Samas as much, though. 

Over the previous months, John had made many comments about trusting Tony or Ronon or Hew to make the same sort of physically impossible feats as Samas. Perhaps John thought he was being subtle, but John and subtlety were as likely to appear together as Rodney and subtlety. So Elizabeth had gone to Samas and asked whether he was ever lonely in the waters under Atlantis.

She remembered his knowing smile, the slight quirk of his eyebrow, the way he explained that he planned to never be lonely again after a few thousand years of swimming in a South American river.

The only logical conclusion was that he had other symbiotes down there. Given that no other symbiotes had come with them, Elizabeth figured that Samas had given her more potentially explosive information than she had expected. However, he’d couched it in terms that allowed her plausible deniability. She truly would miss Samas and his superior understanding of the political realities of leadership. 

“I trust that Samas has made provisions for this stage of his life,” she said, “especially since he might live under there for thousands of years yet.”

“His species is remarkable.” Ladon walked to the door, and it slid open for him. Clearly Atlantis still favored Ladon, even if Elizabeth could no longer.

“And when his species was corrupted by the memories of a psychotic host, they were nearly destroyed, and they proved an enemy as insidious as the Wraith.” Elizabeth would not have anyone forget that. She trusted Samas, but his people had a genetic design flaw that had to be kept in mind. She followed Ladon out onto the balcony overlooking the Gate.

John was right there. “Chief Radim, nice to see you,” he said, and he even managed to sound like he might mean it. He then ruined that by giving Ladon’s guard a narrow-eyed glare. Elizabeth sighed. When John trusted someone, he completely trusted them—and he treated the rest of the universe like enemies.

“Colonel Sheppard,” Ladon said in a far more believable facsimile of friendliness. “You look like you are doing well.”

“I can’t complain.”

“Chief Radim, I will apprise you the moment the new technology is available,” Elizabeth said. Now John was giving her a narrow-eyed look, but Elizabeth ignored him. She escorted Ladon down the stairs, his guard following behind, and John trailing them. Ronon appeared out of nowhere, standing near the Stargate with his hand resting on his weapon. The gate shimmered, so there was no time for long farewells or empty promises. Ladon gave her a bow and a longing look, and then he strode through the gate, back to his own responsibilities.

She watched his honor guard follow him and then the wormhole vanished in a blink.

“The technology?” John asked as he stepped to her side.

“The interface to speak with Samas.”

“Oh.” John sounded confused.

“He either wanted to use Gibbs as a political pawn or he was trying to protect me from having to send Gibbs back to Earth, I’m not sure which.”

“He’s Genii,” John said in a disgusted voice. “He nearly got Lorne killed in his games, so I’m guessing the first more than the second.”

And that was John’s other immutable truth. If you hurt people he saw as part of his team, he did not forgive.

“Perhaps,” Elizabeth said, although she hoped it was more the second. She liked to believe that what they had, while temporary, had left real changes on both their souls.

“I don’t know what you ever saw in him,” John said, still sounding confused and sounding just disgusted enough that Elizabeth felt like she should take offense. She was also shocked that John knew about her history with Ladon. Usually he only noticed interpersonal issues when they were six inches in front of his nose. Then again, John had a loyal group of friends, many of whom were far more savvy with that sort of information. She could image Abby explaining which man had fallen into which bed on which night.

Elizabeth didn’t bother to answer. She turned and headed back up to her office.


	4. Radek / Selana

“How do you feel?” Radek asked.

“Like a fish thrown upon land to die,” Selana answered. Radek sat on the edge of their bed and ran his hand up her thigh. Selana was his second wife, but she was the first he loved. Ljuba had been a fine woman, but he had married her to protect her from another and help her emigrate. He had never loved her. He had never found that to look at her gave him pleasure. He had certainly never wished for children. In the past, children were nothing more than poorly behaved creatures responsible for creating much damage.

But now he would have a child with Selana. He hoped that their daughter had her beautiful dark eyes. He leaned close and brushed his lips against hers. “You are beautiful.”

“I love you for your ability to lie,” she said with a laugh. 

“I am very poor at lying,” Radek said. “And I have no need.” He let his palm rest against her stomach.

She had been knitting in bed, and she set aside the yarn before resting her own hand on his. “It will not be long now.”

“It will be many, many years,” Radek disagreed. Surprisingly, he found he looked forward to those years of dirty clothes and broken furniture.

She smiled as if she could hear his thoughts. “Teyla speaks of Earth children coming to the city. I would like our daughter to be raised around those of both our worlds.”

Radek laid down next to her, his hand still resting on her stomach. “This place, it is more like city every day. I am not sure if that is good or not, but it is true.”

“Five years ago, a place like this would have made me run in fear. I would have been convinced that the Wraith would come and take such a large population. They were like gods—malevolent gods who took so much and offered nothing in return. This is good. What your people have done is remarkable.”

Radek frowned at her reverent tone. “Do not put my people on pedestal. They make many mistakes.”

“As do my people,” Selana said softly. “We have each seen the other make such mistakes.”

Radek thought of how the Athosians had reacted to the idea that Teyla had Wraith DNA in her. They had not been kind, but he understood how fear could shape someone’s reactions. He didn’t blame them. He was not as sure that those of Earth should be forgiven for the sorts of mistakes Ellis and Everett had made. Even Sheppard had made his own errors, such as allowing the experiments upon the Wraith Michael. It still remained to be seen if Sheppard had made an error in releasing the Wraith called Guide. It bothered him that Samas was no longer around to provide a more sensible point of view. Jo was a strong queen, but she lacked Samas’ several thousand years of experience.

Selana threaded her fingers with his. “We are stronger together. Our children will be raised beside one another.”

For a time, they lay in silence. Radek had grown up watching as people fled from one place to another, always seeking to find the one spot where the epidemic of violence would not find them. They would tuck children into carts of grain and ferry them about seeking some illusion of sanctuary. This felt entirely too much like that, but Radek lacked the words and Selana lacked the understanding of Earth history and politics for that to be easily told. “They send children because the war does not go well at home.”

“And I hold hope that your people will find a miracle to save your world as you have saved mine,” she said firmly. 

“If they can’t?” Radek rarely let himself think such ideas, but there was much he would miss. He had suffered much growing up, but he could not imagine a reality where he would never again see the great bridges of Prague and the Vltava river. He would miss the cobblestone roads and red roofs and the old town square with the astronomical clock that his young mind had watched with such fascination. And he refused to consider the people who would die with Earth—his sister and his idiot brother-in-law and their messy child, his strange uncle who had taught him to make vodka and his cousins and the men and women he’d known in the university. It would all vanish under the Ori need to be worshipped.

Selana grew quiet, and they lay there with the silence as their companion. Radek had never found this with any woman from Earth. They either failed to understand the depth of the horrors he carried or they had lost themselves to the hate. He knew more than one back home in the Czech Republic who hated with such passion they had lost some part of themselves that was required to find peace in silence. 

After a time, Selana sighed. “It is the nature of life to lose, but we must love what we have.”

“And I have you.” Radek turned his head to kiss her shoulder. She smiled at him before bringing her hand up to rest against his cheek. Even if Earth fell, this would be enough. After all, Radek had lost everything more than once. To lose Earth would hurt, but if he had Selana, he had not lost his world.


	5. Anne Teldy/Kyli (OFC)

Anne stripped off her uniform jacket as she walked through the door. She loved being a major, but when she came home, she loved stripping off the responsibility of that rank and being Anne. Other bases she’d served on hadn’t allowed her to ever let her hair down, but this was Atlantis. Hell, her commanding officer snuck off to have gay sex with the most obnoxious man in the city and his second was known for his skill at painting landscapes. Someone on Atlantis had definitely forgotten to include the obligatory testosterone poisoning required on most military bases.

“Kyli?” she called. 

“Out here!”

Anne had traded quarters near the main areas for a room with access to a large terrace. She headed out to find Kyli and Ronon sparring. Their muscles bulged and Kyli met Ronon blow for blow. He had her on weight, but Kyli was nearly as tall as him, and she definitely had a few moves of her own. Anne leaned against the edge of the door and breathed in the fresh ocean air as she watched them battle across the terrace and then back again.

Kyli got a hit in to Ronon’s knee and he started to go down, but at the last minute, he used his momentum to swing his rods at Kyli’s legs. She leaped to avoid a disabling blow, but when she landed, Ronon aimed a kick that knocked her back. When these two got going, Anne wouldn’t get between them for all the tea in China. Then again, she didn’t have the benefit of one of Samas’ children—not that anyone was going to admit that to her.

Nope, they all just smiled and changed the subject. But that was fine. Anne assumed that the colonel knew even if Major Lorne didn’t, and she wasn’t about to get in the way of his command. She trusted him to make the right choices, even if they were choices that would have sent commanding officers on earth into fits.

She still couldn’t believe Sheppard had signed off on her request for transfers. Mehra, Porter, and Vega made a great team, but back at the SGC, someone would have given birth to a cow before allowing her to have an all-female team. Hell, Landry would have called her into his office and openly questioned her judgment. But Lorne had promised that Atlantis was different, and she had trusted him enough to make the request. She had hoped to get one or two of the women so that, for once, she wouldn’t be the only woman on her team. Instead, Sheppard had signed off on all three.

And now Anne planned to ask for Kyli as a local liaison. She was Satedan and the best fighter Anne knew, with or without one of Samas’ kids. She’d even give Kyli good odds against Ronon, although Ronon seemed to have the upper hand now. Kyli kept glancing over toward Anne, and that was definitely not good for her concentration.

Ronon stopped and took a step back, brushing his dreadlocks away from his face. “Your heart isn’t in it.”

“Nope, it’s somewhere else,” Kyli said. She came over to Anne’s side and wrapped an arm around her to pull her in for a kiss. Anne loved the strength in Kyli’s arms and the tenderness in her touch. Kyli was damp with sweat and radiating heat like a furnace, and Anne loved it. She slipped her hand behind Kyli’s head and kissed her harder. Kyli obliged by parting her lips, and Anne lost herself in the warmth, the taste of Satedan spice and the feel of Kyli’s hands on her body.

By the time Kyli pulled back, Anne was completely kissed out, and—ironically—starving for more. Ronon watched with amusement. “She distracts you,” he said.

“Amelia Banks distracts you,” Kyli retorted.

“Banks?” Anne was shocked. “Techie Banks?”

Kyli laughed. “Techie Banks has started coming down to spar with us. It turns out she’s a kickboxer.”

Anne couldn’t find the right words for that immediately. “Wow,” she finally said.

Kyli laughed again. She was a formidable woman, but her voice was soft and inviting and every time Anne heard it, she wanted to jump Kyli’s bones. “Ronon is smitten.”

“I just admire someone who takes protecting the city seriously,” he said gruffly, but Kyli was right—he looked smitten. 

“I thought you had a thing for that assistant doctor… the young one.” Anne had a vague impression of her brown hair, but she definitely thought the woman didn’t have a strong enough personality for Ronon. Ronon deserved someone who would bring fireworks and explosions to the relationship. Anne wasn’t sure that Amelia Banks could do that, but if the woman kickboxed, she might. 

Ronon shrugged. “I’m young. I don’t need to settle down yet.”

Kyli smiled. “That’s true. We all have the luxury of time.” She didn’t say what both Satedans were likely thinking—that Atlantis gave them this luxury. Atlantis gave those who had been enslaved by the Wraith enzyme, like Ara, to break free. It gave the surviving Satedans a home where they could share stories and remember. It gave them protection, and Anne had no doubt that every one of them would die before they would give any of it up. After all, they knew what it meant to be a people without a world.

“So, are you going to bring Banks around?” Anne asked. “If so, we’re going to have to dial it down a notch,” she warned Kyli. Right now the woman had draped herself across Anne’s shoulders. As much as Anne loved the contact, she had others to consider. While the officers on Atlantis went out of their way to see less, ask less, and listen to people telling less, there were still the regs to worry about. That’s why technically Kyli lived next door. The connecting terrace was a bonus that no one mentioned, but then no one mentioned the fact that everyone knew to look in an unused residential tower for Colonel Sheppard because his own quarters—and McKay’s—were always empty.

“That’s a stupid rule,” Ronon said. 

“Yep,” Anne agreed, “but it’s a rule.”

Ronon put his rods on the bench that ran along the inside wall of the terrace. “Sheppard and DiNozzo won’t enforce stupid rules, and if they tried, Weir wouldn’t let ‘em.”

“Probably not,” Anne agreed, and how strange was it that she actually did trust her commanding officer and the local NCIS to break regs for her. “But I’m not going to put anyone in a position where they have to take a public stand. It’s better to let things be.”

Ronon snorted, that was his opinion of things. “If Samas were around, he’d have something to say.”

Anne doubted that. “Samas never did the whole time he was here,” she pointed out. 

“He fucked DiNozzo,” Ronon said, and that was rather crude. Ronon crossed his arms as though daring her to argue, not that she could. Those two were less than discreet about their relationship. Those three? It occurred to Anne that Kyli had most likely had one of Samas’ kids in her right now, so did that mean Anne was in a threesome? Did the symbiote ever talk about what Anne and Kyli got up to in the bedroom? One of these days, Anne was going to have to pin Kyli in a corner and tell her that she didn’t give a shit about the military implications, but she really needed to understand the onac for her own personal reasons. 

“Samas pushed, but he never said a word about any of the homosexual relationships in the city,” Anne said. “He knew there were people back home working on this, and pushing now could just attract the interest of the wrong people.”

“She’s right,” Kyli said firmly. “Samas never contradicted the military rules, and Tony certainly wouldn’t appreciate us making things difficult.”

Ronon grunted, grabbed his rods and then strode past them. Clearly the conversation was over. Anne sighed as she heard the hall door close. “He’s not happy.”

Kyli kissed Anne on the temple. “He hates that Samas left. I think he feels a little abandoned.”

“From what I hear, Samas didn’t have a lot of choice,” Anne said. Working at the SGC, she thought she knew a lot about symbiotes, but Atlantis had taught her differently. She had no idea that to stay healthy, they had to return to the water and that eventually, they weren’t even able to host. It made her wonder how sick and weak the goa’uld she’d fought were. Maybe Ra and Osiris had been running out of time before the Gate teams ever killed them. That would explain Lord Yu and his weird senility. 

“He didn’t,” Kyli said. “If he had a way to stay with Gibbs and Tony, he would have.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Anne found it more than a little sad that Samas had to give up the men he loved. She only hoped that he did have a lot of kids that could keep him company. The alternative was entirely too sad.

“Ronon is having a hard time accepting Tony as the new Turi ambassador. Part of him wants to find fault while another part feels guilty because he knows how angry Samas would be if he were here. I don’t know how to help him through this.”

“Samas and Sheppard rescued him from a life on the run. He’s going to take some time to get past losing one of them, but he’ll come around.”

“I hope so,” Kyli said softly. “Tony keeps trying to give him room, and I’m not sure that’s the best way to handle an unhappy Ronon.”

“Let Gibbs worry about that. I’m sure he can give Tony a few tips,” Anne said, but she wondered if she shouldn’t say something to Sheppard. Maybe he could keep an eye on the problem and smooth things over a little.

“That’s true. So, we need to choose a gift,” Kyli said.

“Already?” Anne thought that Selana would have another few weeks at least. She hadn’t found that perfect gift, and it needed to be perfect. 

“She’s starting to have the night pains. The doctors say it could be days or weeks, but if the child comes, I want to have a gift in hand. Tomorrow are the tenday markets, and Walter managed to invite a few specialty merchants. There will be birthing gifts and fine fabrics and toys, and if we are not there first, Rodney will buy all the best pieces and offend everyone else into leaving.”

“That’s why Sheppard moved all the command meetings back.” Anne still couldn’t believe she’d found a commanding officer who would rearrange an entire military schedule for an injury or so that people could shop for presents. He’d once talked Dr. Weir into having military exercises on P3R-271 just so that Robertson could visit his girl’s family and ask for their blessing for a marriage. They had cursed Robertson out and accused him of kidnapping Alaxia, but Teyla assured them that it was Robertson’s willingness to ask that Alaxia required, not her parents’ consent. 

“Come on. I fixed dinner,” Kyli said. Taking Anne’s hand, she led Anne inside. Their suite was two rooms, but when Tony had visited, he’d found a kitchen hidden under a recessed panel. That’s where Kyli headed. “Steak and koo root mash,” she offered.

Anne took a deep breath. “Smells wonderful.”

“I’m sure it smells better than me. I’m going to get a shower,” Kyli said. She went to leave, but Anne pulled her back for another kiss. 

“You smell fine, and the food can wait. Let’s take that shower together.”

Kyli smiled. “That would be nice.”

It would be very nice. Anne didn’t know how she ended up lucky enough to get assigned to Atlantis, but she hoped that the Air Force lost her records and left her here forever. Failing that, she was definitely going to make sure that Sheppard arranged a way for people to retire in the city. This was home. Kyli was home. Anne followed Kyli to their bathroom, stripping her clothes off as she walked.


	6. Evan Lorne/Abby

Evan ran his fingers over Abby’s hips. There wasn’t a trace of last night’s games to be seen on her smooth skin. “Either you’ve found an Ancient healing device, or you’re hiding something,” he said. Abby twisted around in the bed and caught his hand in hers.

“You’re always careful with me.”

“Not that careful,” Evan said, and he wasn’t. He’d grabbed her hard enough to leave bruises. He’d spanked her until his hand was red and her butt was glowing. And now there wasn’t a trace. He still had neat lash marks from the last time she rode him. It meant he’d been dressing out for missions in the bathroom stall. The new guys thought he was shy. The ones who’d been on Atlantis long enough to know Abby just laughed at him.

But that was fine. At least here it was a good natured sort of ribbing—the sort people gave each other in lieu of saying, “Congratulations on finding someone as kinky as you.” Evan had been on bases where he would have been the butt of a lot of jokes if he let a woman leave marks on him. He gave Samas and Tony the credit for Atlantis’ laid back attitude toward sex. Of course he hadn’t loved seeing Tony naked running down the hall, but he was man enough to deal.

“What happened to your bruises?” Evan asked.

Abby looked at him sadly. “If you ask, I’ll tell you. Are you sure you want to know?”

Fear washed over Evan. When Abby said things like that, it generally meant that he really didn’t want to know, but he was the second in command of the military, and he had an obligation to get the uncomfortable answers. “I think I need to know.”

“No you don’t,” she said easily. “You really don’t.”

“I think I have a duty here. I’m Sheppard’s second in command.”

“And Sheppard knows.” Abby rested her hand on his arm. “Honest.”

Something in that didn’t sound right. Evan had learned to be very, very specific with Abby because when she was trying to avoid saying something, she had verbal creativity down to a martial art. “The colonel knows you can heal bruises?” 

“Yep.”

Evan narrowed his eyes. “Because he’s seen you heal fast?”

She blushed. “Um… no. But he totally wouldn’t be surprised if you told him about this.” For some reason, she reached up and touched a tattoo on the side of her neck—one of her new ones. It was a thin blade that dangled from the bottom of the spider web that covered her neck. 

“So, he knows about something else that the bruising is part of?” Evan asked.

Abby nodded.

“And he’s fine with it?”

“Yep,” Abby said without a hint of unease. She was a horrible liar, so he knew that much was true.

“And you would tell me if I wanted to know?” Evan checked.

Abby sat up in bed and reached for his hand. “I would tell you anything.” She looked him right in the eyes, and Evan believed her. Her honesty and her goodness overwhelmed him sometimes because he had spent entirely too much time seeing evil. He had no idea how she could work first in law enforcement and then on the front lines and still have such integrity. 

“Even if it was some secret from Tony or Gibbs?” he asked, and he waited for her to edit her statement. He understood they were her family, and falling in love with Abby meant accepting them in that role. He didn’t mind. Usually. Abby ducked her head and gave him a look that was almost apologetic. Evan sighed. “Tony and Gibbs are in on this secret, aren’t they?”

“Yep.” She shrugged, “but I would tell you things that I wouldn’t tell them. That’s how love works, Evan, and I would tell you this without you even asking if I thought it would make you happy, only sometimes you’re happier not knowing things, like you really didn’t want to hear about Miko’s sex dream, so I shouldn’t have told you that, but I trust you with that sort of thing. I trust you with anything. I just don’t want to make you unhappy.”

Evan had to admit that Abby knew a few things he really could live without ever discussing. Ever. “Does this have anything to do with technology?”

“Nope.” Abby tilted her head and studied him. He waited to see if she was going to ask him to stop asking because this was feeling like dangerous territory. If her healing wasn’t related to some new technology McKay was testing, there were a limited number of possibilities. None of them were particularly good.

A thought occurred to him. “Does Ronon know this secret?”

Abby nodded. “Way warmer.”

“Teyla?”

“Yep, but not as much as Ronon or Tony or Gibbs.”

Oh this was not good. This was really not good at all because if Ronon was involved, it definitely was not technology. Ronon was only into two things, fighting with his Turi brothers and really vivid alien poetry. Evan actually respected the hell out of the fact that Ronon was so public with his poetry. It was one more way that Atlantis’ culture allowed people more flexibility than his other postings. However, he doubted that Ronon’s poetry had led to him being part of a secret that included Abby’s healing powers.

Abby caught Evan’s hand. “Honestly, this is not anything that anyone else needs to know about. It’s all okay, Evan. Promise.”

“And Colonel Sheppard knows about this?” Evan knew the colonel was the sort who tended to let people run their own corners of the base their own way, but this was a little laid back, even for him.

Abby sat up in bed. “Cross my heart and hope to die,” she said as she drew a cross over her heart. 

“You’ve talked to him about it?”

She scrunched up her face. “Not talked-talked. It’s more like one of those things you talk around because if you talk about then you should probably put it in a report, and no one wants that because people back on earth are…” She scrunched up her face.

“Inflexible?” Evan guessed.

“I was going to say giant buttfaces.”

Evan laughed. “Buttfaces works too.” 

“They really are,” Abby said sadly as though she regretted the stupidity of her home planet. Evan felt that way more often than he wanted to admit, and honestly, it did sound like the colonel to avoid an issue that would force Earth to do something monumentally stupid.

“If I drop a hint or two to the colonel, is he going to tell me to drop it?”

“Yep,” Abby said with confidence. “And it would make you feel better, so you should definitely drop those hints, but sometimes the colonel is a little clue resistant, so make ‘em big hints.”

Evan snorted. That was true. Sheppard was the best CO he’d ever had. He landed on people hard when they were stupid, he gave people enough autonomy to get their job done, he trusted his officers to know their stuff, but he was first in line to offer training or help when someone needed it. And the man pulled off the impossible on a regular basis. Evan still couldn’t get over all that proof that DiNozzo had dug up proving that an Ancient ran around changing the odds to favor Sheppard, but Sheppard inspired that sort of crazy loyalty, in part by being loyal to a fault.

However, it took a clue semi-truck to hit him dead center before he picked up on stuff. Evan might just have to give Sheppard this whole conversation and then ask if the colonel wanted him to drop it. It’d be quicker than trying to get the man to catch a hint. Hell, Evan wasn’t sure how the colonel and Dr. McKay had ever hooked up because they were both so socially inept that he couldn’t imagine either making the first move. Maybe that mystery Ancient Tony found evidence of had locked them in a closet together. Hell, maybe Atlantis herself had locked them in some place, because Evan could see her doing that. After he’d threatened to lock Tony up if Tony was too compromised to be part of the rescue mission for Gibbs and the colonel, transports had acted up for days. Doors only opened at the last minute, and more than one had nearly shut on his toes. The others could lie to themselves and say they were computer glitches, but Evan was on Tony’s side—the city had an artificial intelligence, and maybe it had played matchmaker. Something happened because the colonel sure didn't catch any clue busses on his own.

But then again, Evan wasn’t much better. He just had Abby. She was the insightful one in their little family. She certainly made up for some of his shortcomings, and he did trust that she was telling him the truth.

“If the colonel agrees that this is one of those things we don’t talk about, then next time I’m spanking you harder,” Evan said, testing the waters a little.

Abby squealed, bounced, and clapped her hands. Her beautiful breasts bobbed merrily. Evan was definitely going to be late for work. Luckily, Sheppard was also pretty good at not noticing that sort of stuff, either.


	7. Tony / Gibbs

Gibbs looked up as Tony walked in the room. For one second, he looked fine, but the moment the door slid closed, he leaned against the wall and gave a pained whine. Gibbs shot up and caught Tony's arm before he could slide down to the ground.

"What the hell?"

Tony groaned as Gibbs hauled him toward the couch. "I hate it when you're right."

"What was I right about?" Gibbs asked, although he suspected he already knew. Jo had to prove herself, and to the Satedan Turi, that meant showing strength. If not for Tony’s insistence that the Turi include scientists and change the challenge rules, this might have been the only part of Turi culture to develop. Instead the science Turi had been quick to accept Tony as leader and Jo as queen, even the older Satedans like Hew had fallen into line. Only a few of the younger Satedans held onto their anger that the queen hadn’t chosen someone physically more intimidating. Gibbs settled Tony on the couch and winced when he heard the pained whine that Tony tried to hide. Jo would fix anything that needed fixing, but if the injuries were bad enough that Jo didn’t have time to manage the pain, the fight had been brutal.

“You want a drink?” Gibbs asked.

“Please,” Tony said, “only maybe just water.”

Yeah, the injuries were bad. Gibbs went to get him a drink.

"My bruises are bruised," Tony complained while Gibbs was at the sink. "Jo is so busy trying to fix me that she doesn't even have time to gloat."

Gibbs brought a glass of water back and pressed it into Tony's hands. He drank eagerly. "So I take it that you won."

Tony nodded without lowering the glass. He finished off the last bit of water, and Gibbs took the glass from him to go fill it up again. "I totally kicked Ronon's ass, and the only person more shocked than Ronon was me."

"I'm not," Gibbs said. "You have good moves, and Jo can both strengthen your body and provide a few moves of her own. I can't count the number of times Samas saved me by jumping out of the way of some danger faster than human reflexes could."

"Yeah, but it's Ronon," Tony said. "And he has his own Turi." He reached for the second glass of water just as quickly, but this time he didn't gulp it down. Gibbs remembered what it was like after he'd taken some major damage and Samas would demand more and more water.

"And you're the queen's host," Gibbs said firmly. "That means something."

Tony gave a lopsided grin. "It means I kicked Ronon's ass and then walked away like it was nothing. And now it means that I'm going to lie in bed and nurse cracked ribs and bruised bruises."

Gibbs chuckled. Yeah, he wasn't surprised Jo had hidden the damage. She'd learned from Tony, and Tony always had hidden his various hurts. In the years they'd been on Atlantis, they had only received one email forwarded from his father, and that had been a thinly veiled request for money. Tony laughed it off. So it made sense that Jo had picked up that same trait. But then they would come home and share their real feelings with him, and that was a gift Gibbs planned to cherish and honor.

"Come on," Gibbs said. "Let's get you into bed."

"Not tonight, honey. I have a headache."

"Smartass."

"Tonight, it's more like sore ass," Tony said. He held out a hand, and Gibbs pulled him upright. He tottered unsteadily toward the bedroom, and Gibbs kept a hand under his arm. "This will settle things, right?" Tony sounded almost desperate for reassurance.

"Ronon was close to Samas. He just wants to know that you're just as strong," Gibbs said. He guided Tony into their bedroom and helped him onto the bed. Tony tried to bed down to untie his boots, but he gave up with a groan.

"Lay down," Gibbs ordered. Tony might have the queen Turi, but Gibbs was still the boss at home. He wasn't sure he could have handled that changing. And maybe that's why the other Turi sometimes had to test Jo. They saw her turning to him. Samas and Jo had ganged up on him, insisting that Gibbs carry a young Turi in order to keep his body running as long as Tony would need him, which might be a few hundred years. However, that meant that the clear command structure Turi expected had been undermined by Tony's loyalty.

They were all learning to adjust to a Turi queen who still considered an abandoned human host such an integral part of her beloved queen that she continued to defer to the host of an unnamed shadow Turi. Gibbs sometimes wondered if Samas had understood how much Tony would change the onac he carried and led.

"I don't like Ronon very much right now," Tony complained as Gibbs helped him out of his shirt. His torso was a riot of violent bruises, most of them already turning blue and green as Jo accelerated the healing. It looked like Ronon had cracked more than a couple of Tony's ribs.

"Yes, you do. You appreciate that he gives you the respect Jo deserves by providing a real challenge and Jo and Samas will probably still fight over his symbiotes," Gibbs pointed out as he urged Tony to settle back into the bed. Once Jo had healed him and returned to the water, Gibbs was going to tie Tony down and spend all night stroking and petting him. He’d work him up so that his cock would stand up hard and needy, and then he’d curl around Tony and feel him squirm with need. And after all that, when Tony finally came, his brains would leak out and he’d forget this whole mess—or at least he wouldn’t care about it. Tony was remarkably bad at holding a grudge, especially when he was sated.

Tony groaned. "Probably. But tonight I plan to complain about him bitterly."

Gibbs chuckled as he unbuttoned Tony’s pants and started easing him out of the Athosian leather.

Tony threw his arm over his eyes. "I'm dying. Why did I let Jo get me into this?"

"Because you know you have to step up and prove you're the leader."

Tony sighed. Gibbs had said all that before, but Tony needed to keep hearing it. He played at being arrogant, but the truth was that he wasn't the one to claim glory or push to the front of the pack. He was a team player. If he'd wanted to be the one in charge, he would have fought to get his own team at NCIS. However, that wasn't him. Sometimes Gibbs felt guilty that Samas' choices meant that Tony had to step up, both with the Turi and with the city's leadership council.

Gibbs ran his hand over Tony's head. "I'm sorry Samas left you holding the bag."

"I get it," Tony said. "I wish he was still around to handle Ronon and the Chinese ambassador, but I get it. He wanted to be in the waters."

"He needed to be in the water," Gibbs said softly. If Samas wanted to hold onto all the stories, all the genetic codes and information that he had, he needed to grow larger.

Tony reached up and ran his hand along Gibbs' arm. "I know. Hey, I have my own queen, so I get it. Sometimes Jo sees Samas with that huge body wrapped around his nest, and she is so jealous she could eat her own tail. Samas has all these stories, all these memories of the people he knew, all these adventures, and the other symbiotes whip up the waters every time he detaches from the egg sack to go looking for new suitors. There isn’t a symbiote down there who wouldn’t die to get Samas to choose him. He’s the center of the world down there, and Jo loves Samas as much as she’s jealous of her.”

Gibbs pulled his own shirt off and carefully crawled into bed. He tugged Tony closer until he could wrap himself around him. “If she nests too early, she’ll regret it. She’ll miss the adventures and grow tired of her own limited number of stories,” Gibbs said. 

“Which is why she has no need to nest—not yet.”

“And not for centuries. She needs to have her own adventures, and maybe I’m selfish, but I really hope that most of those adventures come after we’re gone.” When Samas had led them into an attack against Ba’al mothership, Gibbs had worried more than he had since he’d lost his family. He brushed the hair back from Tony’s face. “I don’t like the idea of risking you.”

“But I’m the queen host, and sometimes that means taking the big risks,” Tony finished. “I get it, boss. You don’t want me to be out there, but sometimes I’m going to have to be the one to stand up and fight. The queen leads from in front, not from in back, which is why I had to fight Ronon.”

Gibbs sighed.

Tony shifted to the side, and gave another pained hiss, but he did manage to get his arm up so that it rested against Gibbs’ stomach. “At least with Colonel Sheppard around, all the weird seems to hit him first.”

“That’s true,” Gibbs said. The man was a menace. Gibbs had no idea how he avoided getting himself killed because that sort of fatalism and bad luck on a front line usually led to someone being dead fairly quickly. Tony’s theory about ascended Alterians helping him out made a lot of sense, but then Tony always was good at putting together the evidence, even when it led to improbable places. 

“I think my liver is broken,” Tony said.

“Do you need Carson?”

“Nope, but a new liver would be nice. Ronon kicks hard.”

“Look at the good side,” Gibbs said. “You won the fight, so he’s hurting more, and his symbiote isn’t likely to do much to heal him.”

“What do you mean?”

“It isn’t a queen and doesn’t have as much control over the body, and her symbiote is probably pretty upset about his host attacking a queen. Trust me, that symbiote is going to let Ronon feel every bruise.”

Tony groaned. “I should go see him and let the symbiote know that it’s okay.” He struggled to get up, but Gibbs easily pinned him to the bed.

“Tomorrow. He brought it on himself, and tonight he can deal. Forgive him tomorrow.”

Tony fought weakly for a few seconds, and then he yielded. Gibbs wrapped his arms around Tony and kissed the side of his head. “Tomorrow.” Gibbs repeated. Tonight he wanted to take care of his boy.


	8. John / Rodney

John listened to the chatter as Rodney gave the science teams curt orders. He didn’t normally listen to their channel, but he was bored with his paperwork, and listening to Rodney amused him. Rodney’s insults would get more and more creative until he finally devolved into sputters.

This time, John couldn’t even figure out what he was upset about.

The oceanographers had their mini-subs somewhere that Rodney had not appreciated, and from the sounds of it, they’d gotten it tangled in the city’s substructure. And then Radek had gotten involved, and the cursing had gotten even more interesting.

The two men shared a love of profanity that John didn’t quite understand. John could throw out a four letter word as well as any soldier, but Radek and Rodney swore with a creativity and a linguistic flair that was almost artistic. And apparently whatever stupidity they had done under the city, it was worth their full attention and effort.

John wondered if Elizabeth ever listened in on these channels. Probably. Hell, there were probably black market recordings—the greatest hits of scientific cursing. John finished signing off on various officers requests, only turning down one. He was fairly sure the Capt. Swanson didn’t actually want to draw and quarter Rodney, but John was fairly impressed with the quality of the paperwork the man had filled out. He also made a mental note to avoid sending Rodney with AR-8 in the immediate future. Sometimes it just didn’t pay to loan out your geek. At least that’s what General O’Neill always told him. But then the general was usually trying to keep people from stealing his geek, John didn’t actually have that problem.

He had just closed his laptop when the door to their quarters came open. For a moment, Rodney stood in the open doorway, gripping the side as if he was afraid he would fall down.

“Rodney?”

“I’m going to kill them all.”

Clearly this is more serious than John had understood from the general snark level. “What happened?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps I have staff that doesn’t listen to me when I tell them not to do something. Why does Earth insist on sending us people who have no respect for the fact that I’m smarter than they are. No, I’m not just smarter than they are. I’m so smart that I leave them in the dust. They can’t even comprehend how smart I am. And yet they insist on acting like they are the prima donna center of the universe. There’s only one prima donna on Atlantis, and that’s me. Me. Me. Me.” Rodney shuffled into the room, and the door slid shut behind him.

John hurried to Rodney’s side before the man fell on his face. “You look like roadkill.” Two seconds later, it occurred to him that he should probably be nicer about how he said that.

“Good,” Rodney said before John could apologize. “If I’m going to feel the shitty, I should at least get to look bad too. That way I get some sympathy. And you better be dishing out some sympathy tonight.”

“I have all the sympathy in the world. At least, I would, if you told me what was going on.” John guided Rodney towards the bedroom with a hand under his elbow.

“My people are idiots. No, that’s not true. The people from earth who General O’Neill is choosing to evacuate clearly represent the most arrogant, obstinate, insubordinate, and obstreperous human beings that the planet can produce. I’m beginning to think would be better off if we just didn’t open the gate when Earth called.”

“Okay, I’ll take that under advisement.” John guided Rodney to the bed and urged him to sit. Rodney dropped and then flopped backwards onto the mattress, his arms out spread as though ready for crucifixion.

“Is there anyone in particular we’re trying to keep out of the city?” John asked. He bent down and started untying Rodney’s boots.

“Anyone who likes water.”

“Well, since this is a floating city and technically our bodies are made up of a lot of water, that could be a problem. Is it okay if I keep taking in more Marines and other soldiers?”

Rodney snorted. “At least your Marines follow orders. When I say do not go to a particular place, I usually mean do not go to a particular place. There’s no secret code. I don’t speak in other languages when I explain these things. It’s very simple. I say no and then they ignore me and do what they want to do and I have to fix the mess.” Rodney covered his eyes with his arm.

John pulled Rodney’s boots often set them to one side. “How much damage did they do?”

“None. It’s not how much damage they did; it’s how much damage they could have done.”

“Bad huh?” Before John had taken this posting, he had a vague sense that scientists were quiet people who sat in the labs. Clearly, he’d been an idiot. He sat on the bed next to Rodney and ran his hand up and down Rodney’s thigh for a second. “It sounds like you stop them from doing any damage.”

“What I did was stop them from driving a submarine right into the middle of Samas’ breeding grounds. I can just imagine how that would go over back on Earth. ‘Hey there’s some really cool footage of thousands of symbiotes swimming around in the ocean. And hey look, there’s a Queen.’ No they wouldn’t send any poison. Not at all. It’s not like General O’Neill is an arrogant racist son-of-a-bitch who hates all symbiotes. But when I tell them to stop to they stop? No!”

John’s stomach grew rocks in it. “They were headed for Samas’ territory?”

“Yes. Exactly. You understand now why I’m getting ulcers. There are too many small minded people in this city, and I like Samas. If O’Neill did something stupid with symbiote poisoning, I would really have to hurt him, and I’m not talking about a strongly worded letter. Samas is a friend.”

“And he’s a cagey old bastard who’s good with code,” John said in his most soothing voice. “I bet if you look, the chemical formula for symbiote poison has been added to the list of toxic substances the city guards against.”

Rodney moved his arm enough that he could look at John. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you’re worried. Worry does bad things to the brain,” John said. He slid his hand up to unzip Rodney’s uniform top.

“I wonder if he did do that.”

“If he didn’t, you will tomorrow morning,” John said. “And tonight, you kept stupid people from finding Samas, and the Turi are safe.” John definitely needed to find a good way to soften O’Neill’s stance on symbiotes, but he didn’t know how. The general might not be the asshole Rodney assumed he was; however, the irrational hatred was very real. 

“I thought they were going to see something,” Rodney said, a brittle edge to his voice as the anger started to fade only to show the fear underneath. It sometimes amazed John that he was the one who got to see this—the real Rodney hidden under layers of prickles. Maybe Teyla and Tony caught glimpses of it because they were so very protective of him, but there was love under all the cranky façade. Love and a deep fear of not being good enough. And it made John ache every time he caught a hint of all that insecurity under the bluster.

“You protected them,” John said before he kissed the side of Rodney’s neck. “Now let’s get you out of these clothes so you can go to bed and dream about eviscerating all the obstreperous scientists.” John sat up and pulled on Rodney’s arm until he finally sat up with a grunt. John made quick work of Rodney’s jacket and then pulled his t-shirt up and over his head.

“I have to pee,” Rodney said, which was less than graceful, but that was Rodney for you.

“You going to make it by yourself?” John asked, and he was halfway serious. Rodney had been pretty unsteady on his feet earlier.

Rodney braced his hand on John’s shoulder and pushed himself up. “Yes, yes. I’m fine.” He headed for the bathroom with heavy steps, and John moved fast. He pulled the sheets back, grabbed Rodney’s uniform jacket and hung it over a chair before sending Rodney’s and his t-shirts sailing toward the basket in the corner. He stripped down to his boxers and signed out of the night with Chuck before putting his radio on the side table. So by the time Rodney came shuffling back out of the bathroom, John had all the pieces in place.

When Rodney was a few steps away from the bed, John caught him by the arm and made sure to guide Rodney into the bed instead of letting him collapse across the whole damn thing. Rodney collapsed face down and gave a long sigh.

“Shove over,” John said, shoving at his hip.

“You’re endlessly romantic,” Rodney said with just a touch of sarcasm in there. He was probably going for full on snark, but he was too tired to pull off the right tone for that. He scooted to the side, and John crawled onto the bed and straddled Rodney’s hips. He pressed the heel of his hand into the center of his back and began pressing against the tense muscles. Rodney groaned and John worked his way up to Rodney’s neck, pressing his fingers into the knots of muscle as he found them. He moved slowly, careful not to hurt Rodney as he moved up his spine again.

“Oh my God. I love you,” Rodney said, his words muffled by the pillows. John worked his way up to Rodney’s neck and then started massaging down Rodney’s right arm. Little tremors went through Rodney’s body, and John could feel them through his hands and through where John’s inner thighs pressed against Rodney’s warm flesh. Rodney was such a hedonist.

John leaned close. “Do you want to get fucked?” he asked. He had a second of flashback. He’d asked Nancy the same thing after a very similar massage, and he’d spent the rest of the night on the couch.

“Hell, yes,” Rodney said. 

John chuckled as he reached the end of Rodney’s arm and began to massage his hand. Rodney’s hands were so strong. John pressed his thumbs deep into Rodney’s palm before rubbing each finger. Rodney groaned—it was his happy groan, the one that meant he didn’t plan to move, even if the city started to sink. John loved the sound.

He worked Rodney’s hand for another second and then he began to move back up Rodney’s arm, kneading the tight muscles until they slowly loosened under his touch. Now John added little kisses. If Rodney wasn’t tired, this would be where he started demanding sex and getting pushy. And that was fine. John loved it when Rodney pushed and told John exactly what he wanted it and for exactly how long. It made sex a lot less stressful. However, he also liked it when Rodney was so worn out and exhausted that he took every touch as a gift, trembling and groaning under John’s hands. John rubbed Rodney’s neck and ran his fingers through his hair.

Rodney gave a long sigh that sounded like a balloon losing all its air. John repeated his rubdown on Rodney’s left arm, giving that hand the same love and attention he’d offered the other, and now he peppered his massage with small kisses.

John was so hard that his dick was starting to ache, but he wanted this to be right. He wanted Rodney to really let go of the stress, and that took some fancy flying. After all, Rodney didn’t unwind for just anyone. Luckily John wasn’t just anyone, and he definitely knew how to fly a precision machine.

John shifted backwards and put on knee between Rodney’s thighs. He shifted, his back arching for a second before he spread his legs just enough for John to comfortably kneel in the gap between them. John began to massage Rodney’s beautifully round ass, working his way closer and closer to his hole. John let his thumb brush across the sensitive, puckered skin, and a whole-body shiver shook Rodney.

“God yes,” Rodney said. John chuckled and switched tactics, massaging down each of Rodney’s thighs. Rodney’s toes curled, but he didn’t comment on John’s approach, not even when John started alternating kisses and little nips. Rodney’s ass had a dozen little pink marks from John’s teeth, and all Rodney did was tuck his hands under his pillow.

John needed lube. He crawled forward and let most of his weight rest on Rodney’s back as he reached for the bedside drawer. He had just pulled it out when Rodney captured John’s arm. He held it long enough to lean in and kiss John on the inside of his elbow. A shiver went through John, and then Rodney sagged back down, releasing John.

“Do you need a map to figure out where you’re going back there?” Rodney complained softly.

“Nope. I’ve been there enough that I know the way,” John said. He lubed two fingers and started prepping Rodney. He went as slow as he could, moving on to the next step only when it seemed like Rodney was tensing up for another complaint, so it was a long time before John finally took his cock in hand and pressed into Rodney’s body. 

Rodney squirmed as John slowly thrust in and pulled back, forcing his own body to move much slower than he wanted. He needed Rodney to lose control, and it wasn’t all that easy to get Rodney’s mind to utterly shut off. So John set a torturously slow place and dug his fingers into Rodney’s sturdy hips. Soon, Rodney started making hungry little cries and he fisted the sheets. Only then did John begin to speed up, feeding his own desire as he aimed for Rodney’s prostate. 

When Rodney began a litany of “Oh god” and “Right there” and “More,” John loosened his tight control and pounded into Rodney until the small cried turned into near screams. John felt Rodney’s whole body stiffen with orgasm, and he slid over that edge himself. He came so hard that the world grayed out around the edges and he gave a few more thrusts before he collapsed onto Rodney’s back.

They lay there a time, bodies slick with sweat and panting. Eventually John slid over to the side, leaving one arm and one leg draped over Rodney. Slowly their bodies cooled, and John rested his forehead against Rodney’s shoulders, feeling every twitch as Rodney recovered from the orgasm.

“Better?” John asked.

Rodney turned his head toward John and smiled. “Perfect.”


End file.
